Olive Branch ensures children throughout the I.E. eat dinner, serves nearly 2,000 in April

The Olive Branch Development and Empowerment Services Inc. has paved a way to ensure children from any community have an opportunity to eat dinner.

Since the COVID-19 shutdown orders occurred in mid-March, Olive Branch made the decision to operate as much as it could, while rolling out a new initiative – a drive-through dinner distribution for children.

“With all of the schools closed in and around the area, many schools and organizations are feeding children breakfast and lunch. We assessed the need and have found many children could potentially be at risk to going without a meal at dinnertime,” said Angela McClain, Olive Branch founder.

“It doesn’t matter what city or community you live in, we are providing dinners to all children who drive up to Kessler Park 18401 Jurupa Avenue, in Bloomington. There are no sign-ups, just drive up with your children in the vehicle,” continued McClain.

The dinner distribution is currently being held Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 5 PM to 7 PM.

“Since March, every single Monday, Wednesday and Friday we have been handing out 300 meals to children and in total, we have serviced 1,892 individuals in the month of April alone,” McClain said.

She also shared that the organization’s need for food has nearly tripled since the outbreak of COVID-19. In February and March 2020, the 501(C)(3) nonprofit served roughly 650 individuals…since then, it’s tripled to 1,892 individuals.

“We are so grateful for our volunteers, but we could always use additional volunteers on Mondays, because on Mondays we host an open food pantry and we are hosting the dinner food drive for children. We’re also seeking donations and essential resources at this time to ensure that we are able to continue feeding our most vulnerable population,” shared McClain.

Anyone in the Inland Empire or beyond who is interested in seeking services from Olive Branch simply has to make one easy phone call.

“All they need to do is call us or contact us on Facebook at Olive Branch Development and Empowerment Services. We service the entire Inland Empire,” concluded McClain.

For more information, call (909) 572-4348.